Hyacinthoides hispanica Dainty Maid

Also known as the Wood Hyacinth or Spanish Bluebells, Dainty Maid has strappy, linear foliage and strong, 12" to 15", rigid, upright stems with 15 to 20 pendant, bell-shaped flowers in the most beautiful shade of glistening violet-pink. Previously classified as Scilla campanulata, this award-winning cultivar thrives in most soil and sunlight conditions, although it prefers a bit of light shade or dappled sunlight. Widely used in both naturalized woodland settings and display gardens, this deer- and rodent-resistant naturalizer matures over the years, becoming increasingly more substantial and prolific. When it’s really happy where planted, it can naturalize by both bulb offsets (baby bulbs on the sides of the mother bulb you’ve planted) and self-sowing seed. They impart a special look and feel to woodlands: kind of like a magical cross between a Wizard of Oz garden and a midsummer’s night dream. You’ll need about nine bulbs per square foot. (Square footage is determined by estimating the planting site’s length and multiplying it times its width.) In woodland settings, you can also scatter-plant the bulbs about for a more natural look.